Voice Work: Casting, Recording, & Mixing

When working on a project that requires voice over, casting an appropriate voice (or multiple voices) is an integral step in the entire process. Whether you need to voice for an animated character or narration for a documentary, the voice over artist you choose will have a strong impact on the overall feel of the production and how it’s received by the audience. Seeing as how crucial this is to the outcome of your project, collaborating with an agency for voice work is key.

As a premier NYC casting & recording agency, CMD can provide the voice work for you. Of course, we’ll work with you collaboratively throughout the process to ensure the selected voice over artist fits the project, who we can then record here in our studio. From there, we can help you master the final mix and attain optimal sound. If you’re starting on a project and need voice work, take a moment to learn more about our process and the options you have in working with Creative Media Design.

Voice Work: Talent Options

The first step in providing voice work to our clients is determining what type of voice is needed for the project. This will depend on a variety of factors, including the type of production, the characters within (animation), who the audience is, and more. In working with CMD, we’ll sit down with you to determine the voice needed—of which we have plenty of options.

We cast and record a broad range of union and non-union voice talent—many of which can be recorded right in our NYC studio. Within our available talent, you can choose from male and female voices, kids voices, and those strictly for animation or video games. If the project requires something more specific, say a Cantonese speaker or Russian accent, we also represent a variety of foreign language and accent voice over talent. Some of our options are provided below:

Keep in mind, if you’re utilizing a foreign language, we can also assist in translating the voice over script for dubbing.

Voice Work: The Process

Though our team will help you sift through our voice over artists, it’s important for you as the brand owner or producer to know what to look for. This way, you can have final say in the casting process and make an educated decision in choosing the voice over artist.

Considerations for Casting the Right Voice Talent

To help you in the decision-making process, we’ve provided a few key aspects and factors to keep in mind as you consider various talent. Take a look below:

Consider your audience. What kind of voice will speak to them best? Could it be a powerful male’s voice? Or a comforting female voice?

Ensure the tone matches that of your brand, or the overall feel.

If the talent is voicing an animated character, think about that character’s given personality. What kind of voice will fit such? Tone is key here.

Are you presenting something or telling a story? The voice you choose will rely heavily on these factors. Whichever it is, keep it in mind as you listen to prospective demos.

While a demo reel can say a lot about a voice over artist, you may want to see if they have previous work you can hear too. You may find they have a specific tone or voice to suit your project that wasn’t on their demo.

Recording the Selected Artist

Once we’ve decided on a particular voice(s), we can get ready to record the talent in our studio. If you select a foreign language voice over artist and need translation for dubbing, we can help here too. Once the script is squared away, we’ll either bring the talent into our studio or connect remotely to record. Either way, we utilize state-of-the-art equipment in our studio to obtain quality sound.

Mixing

The final step of the process is mixing the audio, which can include background music, ambience, sound effects, foley, and the voice work. Our audio engineer has mixed audio for virtually every type of project, so you can rest assured knowing the audio of your production is in the right hands. Once all said and done, you’ll have a quality project featuring an appropriate voice and optimal sound.

Additional Resources for Voice Work

If you’re interested in having CMD provide the voice work for your next project, be sure to contact us today. However, if you’d like a little more information on voice over, your options for voice talent, and our process, check out the resources below: